Care homes

Our prices are based on your individual care needs and your choice of room within our home.

Assess your situation

Some people have the resources to pay for their care in full and others make means tested contributions. There are national limits that determine eligibility for funding assistance which are set by the government and are subject to change, so we advise you to check current figures when choosing a care home.

Paying for care yourself

If you are paying for your own care then you can contact our care home directly to arrange a viewing and request a room. We will do a care needs assessment to make sure we are able to meet your care needs. We advise that you thoroughly read through the contract before signing and make sure you are clear about what you are paying for.

Financial assessment

You will need to have a financial assessment before moving in. The purpose of this assessment is to identify the length of time that you might be able to meet our fees. It will also assess whether you are likely to require top up funding from the Local Authority. We require all new potential residents to undergo an Independent Financial Assessment.

We can give you details of an independent financial advisor that could be used, or you can choose your own providing that your financial report covers our ‘acceptance criteria’. We use ‘Care Advice Service’ and their current cost for a financial assessment is £145 (subject to change) and is refundable after six months. Following the financial assessment, we will be given a red, amber or green score on your ability to pay and we will discuss this score with you.

We require the result of your assessment to be green for you to move in as a permanent resident. We would not ordinarily accept a self-funding resident to move in permanently with a red or amber result.

Common questions

Does Sussex Housing & Care accept Local Authority (LA) funded residents?
We do accept LA funded residents but only with a top-up fee to cover the difference in cost. A third party can ‘topup’ and contribute to any extra cost and they will need to have a financial assessment (see overleaf) to identify whether they can meet the fees.

Do I have to pay a deposit?
We don’t ask for a deposit but we do ask that residents pay in advance (see ‘how frequently are care home fees due?’ question below).

Can I reserve a room?
If a resident is unable to move in immediately and there is a delay, we are able to reserve an empty room of your choosing. This will be charged at the ‘standard’ rate for the room and the charge will apply for the duration of the time it is being reserved. This charge is non-refundable.

How frequently are care home fees due?
For permanent residents, the payment of the monthly charge by direct debit is due in advance on the first day of each month, or the nearest following day if the first day of the month falls on a bank holiday or weekend. For respite residents it is a week in advance.

What happens if a resident becomes eligible for state funding during their stay?
We expect the resident or a third party to pay the difference between what the local authority pay and our fees, if not they will have to leave the home. If we have a more affordable room which is empty we can give the resident the option to move into the cheaper room. Before moving in we ask for the resident to have a third party top up guarantor in case a resident is no longer able to pay the fee.

How can self-funded residents have their fees changed during their stay?
There is an annual fee increase based on a formula which uses CPI and wages increases. This is calculated at a maximum of 2% plus 65% of wages increase plus 35% of CPI.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions to help people looking for a care home at this current time.

We keep up to date with Government guidance and making sure our residents and staff are safe is our top priority.
 

1. Are Sussex Housing & Care’s care homes accepting new residents?

Yes, we are welcoming new residents to our care homes. Please get in touch to register your interest. 

2. Can I have a tour of the care home?

We know that you will want to see our care home for yourself and we can offer an in – home viewing or a virtual tour so that you can get to know us better. Although we still have to have some restrictions in place, our care home manager or deputy manager will be happy to welcome you and answer any questions that you have.

3. Are family and friends able to visit residents?

We welcome friends and family to visit their loved one. Every care home resident is able to have pre-booked visits with visitors (two visitors at any one time), indoors or outside for 45 minutes per visit. They will be able to visit inside the care home provided they take a lateral flow covid test, wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow all other infection control measures during visits.

4. Will the person moving into the care home need to show a negative test result for covid-19?

Yes. Ideally the new resident would have been tested and received a negative result before moving in. The new resident will be tested on the morning of their arrival to the care home, and we will ask them to confirm they do not show any symptoms of Covid-19.

5. Will the person moving into the care home have to isolate upon arrival?

New residents moving to our care homes from the community will not need to isolate if they meet certain requirements, instead they can enjoy meeting other residents and being in our communal spaces from day one. Please click here to visit the government website for more information about requirements and admissions to care homes. 

6. If a new resident is required to isolate, what service will they receive during social isolation?

The new resident will receive our full care service. They will have all their meals and refreshments in their room and personalised care 24 hours a day from our dedicated care team. Their laundry will be taken care of and they will benefit from one to one activities with our care assitants or activity co-ordinators. It's a great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy a variety of activities together.  

7. How is Sussex Housing & Care keeping residents and staff safe?

Our care team wear PPE recommended by the Government. This includes a face mask at all times, and a disposable apron and gloves whilst they deliver personal care or food and refreshments. We also have face visors available. Our team are trained in infection control and to be observant of any changes in the resident’s well-being. All residents have their temperature checked twice a day and we conduct a Covid-19 test for all staff and residents every month.

We have substantial quantities of PPE which is regularly monitored by our PPE champion.

8. How are residents being mentally and physically stimulated?

Our dedicated in-house activity co-ordinators continue to deliver our sunny moments club programme. Every day there are activities in the morning and afternoon. These are tailored to our residents’ likes and interests and can range from for example; scrabble and quizzes to gentle exercise and arts and crafts and gardening. See below for more information about our sunny moments club.

We continue to welcome external entertainers to our care homes who perform at a safe distance on the patio or in the garden or even virtually through the internet. Residents enjoy dancers, singers and musicians – just to name a few.

All four care homes have beautiful gardens and outside space which residents continue to regularly explore. From an ice cream on the sunny patio to a gentle stroll to admire Mother Nature, our residents really do benefit from the fresh air and scenery.

9. Can residents receive post and gifts?

Yes. We welcome friends and family to continue to send post, donations and gifts to residents in our care homes. Some of our residents have recently celebrated birthdays and have enjoyed receiving gifts in line with the Government guidance (gifts that can be sanitised). Click here for Government guidance. 

10. How can residents keep in touch with loved ones outside of the care home?

We understand how important it is for residents to keep in touch with friends and family. In addition to being able to visit safely (see question 3), we are making good use of technology. For example, we have a mobile phone and tablets in each care home for residents to use to chat or video call, and we support residents who are unable to independently use these devices.

We have a private family and friend’s Facebook group for each care home. Here we post photos and videos of daily activities and share updates. Feedback from families about these groups has been very positive and they have enjoyed seeing what residents get up to.

11. How do you monitor who accesses the building?

We have a door entry system at all of our care homes, this means that staff speak to anyone before they enter the building. Visitors should always sign in and residents have an in/out board to use. The doors are opened using a door release code and the nurse call system will alert staff when any other external door has been opened. We encourage our residents to live independently and have access to our lovely gardens, however, we monitor this access to make sure it is appriopriate.

12. How do you safeguard residents?

All of our employees complete a safeguarding training course to make sure our residents, who can be vunerable, are treated with respect and not abused or neglected. We are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and work closely with our local partners. All of our care home employees have manditory training and a DBS check when they start employment with us.

13. What health and safety checks do you complete?

We carry out regular health and safety checks in our care homes to make sure our property is safe, risks are reduced and our equipment is in good working order. 

Fire safety checks include for example:

• Weekly fire alarm testing.
• Monthly checks of; fire extingushers, fire doors, electrical items and cleaning smoke detectors and completing a fire drill.
• Quarterly fire risk assessments and fire risk audits are carried out.
• Every year we have our electircal equipment PAT tested.

Health and safety checks include for example:

• Visual inspections.
• Hoist and sling inspections.
• Hot water temperature testing.
• Internal and external environmental checks.
• Condition of garden furniture assessments.
• Legionella tests.
• Emergency lighting and nurse call system.
• Checking first aid boxes, window restrictors and wheelchairs.

Our values are central to what we do, how we treat each other and how we provide services to our residents.

• We put residents at the heart of everything we do - we strive to deliver the best value service to make a positive difference to our residents.
• We all take responsibility - we care about what we do and the impact we have.
• Everyone matters - we treat everyone with fairness, dignity, kindness and respect.
• Together we make a difference - we are one team.

 

We are a not for profit housing association. This means we make a surplus each year which we reinvest back into the organisation in order to continiously improve our properties and the quality of life of our residents. We strive to create brighter living every day.